


Broken Houses

by WerewolvesAreReal



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen, Possession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 10:55:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13188603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WerewolvesAreReal/pseuds/WerewolvesAreReal
Summary: Tanuma often feels useless when Natsume stays silent about his encounters with youkai. After this, he probably doesn't have the right to complain.





	Broken Houses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MixBerkaan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MixBerkaan/gifts).



> (Belated) Merry Christmas, MixBerkaan! I was your secret santa for the @natsume-ss. I actually don't think I've written about Tanuma much, so it was kinda nice - I rewatched some episodes and I think I appreciate him more now? Anyway, I hope you like this fic!

Kaname wakes up with a terrible headache.

This is nothing new. It brings him to awareness with a persistent timpani-beat, his temple throbbing in time with his heart. His whole head feels constricted, like it's encompassed by a hot rubber band. When he opens his eyes, seeing a blur of light half-clouded by black rings, he almost goes right back to sleep.

It's actually the mild tingling in his fingers that spurs him to stumble up and into the kitchen.

“Can you do a cleansing today?” Kaname asks his father without greeting, almost falling into a chair. Tanuma Kobayashi hums with surprise, turning toward him.

“Something powerful around?” his father asks, giving him a once-over.

Kaname has always appreciated the priest's willingness to believe him; if Kaname says there's a youkai, there's a youkai, even though the old man can't see it. “Yes.”

His father smiles, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “I'll get to it after you leave for school.” He glances pointedly at the clock, and Kaname scrambles out of his seat.

At least there won't be any youkai at school. Probably.

* * *

 

“Are you okay?” Natsume asks at lunch.

Kaname manages a weak smile. He mostly slept through his morning classes, but it barely helped his head. “I'm fine,” he says. “Do you know if any spirits are around?”

Natsume looks so alarmed that he immediately regrets the question, and hastens to add, “I think there was just one at my house, but - “

“Your house!” Natsume exclaims.

Is this how Natsume feels when people worry about him? Natsume looks so stressed all the time that it seems almost criminal to cause him more concern. “My father's cleansing the temple today,” he assures. “It's fine.”

“Maybe I should walk you back after class?”

“I thought Kitamoto was going to teach you fly-fishing?”

“I'm still not convinced he knows how to do that,” Natsume mutters. “ - You could come with us.”

“I'm busy. It'll be fine!” Kaname shakes his head. “Don't worry so much.”

His protests don't stop Natsume from appearing at the gates to walk him home, though, and when they arrive at the temple Natsume shifts on the front steps like he's waiting for an invitation. Fortunately Natsume is also too polite to intrude without one, so Kaname pointedly says, “ _See you later,”_ and enters the temple, shaking his head.

He can't find his father, which is nothing strange; Kobayashi is always getting called away here or there. One thing _does_ make Kaname falter in front of his room - his head is aching even more fiercely than it was in the morning.

Maybe it's just a normal migraine; maybe he's overreacting, and his newfound nausea has nothing to do with spirits. Whatever. A nap will probably take care of it.

* * *

 

The clock glares _2:12_ when Kaname wakes. He stares blankly for a moment before registering that it's 2 in the _morning._

How long did he sleep?

His head still hurts, too, and he probably shouldn't try sleeping any longer. Kaname sighs and sits up – then flinches as something runs toward him in the dark.

Kaname fumbles to turn on a light. Lit in a soft white glow, the room looks perfectly normal after his vision adjusts. Something seems to flicker in the corner of his sight, and he twists around, but then it's gone.

Not a youkai – his dad just cleansed the temple. Maybe it's the migraine. They mess up his eyes, sometimes.

But Kaname keeps the light on for the next few hours anyway.

* * *

 

The priest seems to have left early - Kaname can't find him, anyway. He wanders around a bit, mostly just to reassure himself that he hasn't gone crazy overnight. He keeps seeing little black flickers over his eyes. Too much sleep, he tells himself.

He yawns all through his classes and ends up dozing through lunch. After school he drags himself to the gate to meet Natsume, Kitamoto, and Nishimura.

“Geez,” says Kitamoto. “You look almost as tired as Natsume, Tanuma.”

Natsume shoots the boy a look, but agrees, “Did _something_ stop you from sleeping last night?”

Kitamoto tilts his head and eyes Natsume weirdly.

“No,” Kaname lies. He likes having Natsume over, but he's not going to make Natsume worry about ghosts and spirits more than he already does. “My dad was just... called away very early. I've been up a long time.”

None of this is a lie.

To his relief, the others accept his excuse.

And for awhile Kaname even thinks the day will proceed normally. Nishimura insists on searching for what he _swears_ is a new species of beetle (“that you incidentally _lost_ and _can't describe,”_ Kitamoto teases) and they proceed ahead while half-dragging Natsume between them.

Tanuma smiles at the sight, lingering behind. Eventually he notices that Ponta has dropped back to join him. The cat gives Kaname a deeply suspicious look, raising his head and sniffing. Knowing what he does about the lucky-cat, Kaname can only find this deeply concerning.

But if the cat has anything to say, it's impossible in front of Kitamoto and Nishimura. Frowning, Kaname catches up with the others in time to hear that Nishimura is again lamenting his love-life. Which is to say that Kaname hasn't missed anything important.

Suddenly Ponta weaves between his feet, grumbling wordlessly. Kaname stumbles over him and almost face-plants.

“Your cat's trying to kill me,” he complains aloud. Dimly, as if through a fog, he sees Natsume pause and slowly turn back. The world tilts a bit, and Nishimura whispers, _“Hey, he looks like - “_

Wet earth rests damply against Kaname's cheek; his fingers clench around sticky dirt. Gasping, he chokes over a mouthful of grass and realizes that he's on the ground.

“Tanuma? Tanuma! Geez, he _is_ getting as bad as Natsume...”

“Should we get help - ?”

“Ah - “

Tanuma manages a garbled answer, raises his head. Then a finger taps his cheek, inconsistently, and he realizes he's fallen again. He stares morosely at the spinning sky, which is mostly blocked by Natsume's light hair and amber eyes.

“I think you should go home,” Natsume says worriedly. “I'll take you.”

“But what if you _both_ faint,” asks Kitamoto, only half-joking.

Natsume doesn't find this amusing. “Your dad's there today, right?” he ignores the mutters from their other friends.

“Um.” It takes a moment for the question to register. “Yeah.”

“I'll take you home, then.”

Kitamoto and Nishimura argue, but it seems that only a second later they're gone; Kaname blinks, and realizes he's half-draped over Natsume.

“Urgh,” says Ponta – except in place of his usual, croaking tone, his voice resounds throughout the forest. The lucky-cat can't be seen, but Kaname feels his presence anyway.“Are those two gone? Let him down, Natsume, he stinks of some weakling youkai.”

A bright white flash fills the clearing.

“Oh,” Kaname gasps, stumbling. He suddenly feels energized again – and embarrassed. “Natsume, I'm sorry - “

Natsume waves away his concerns. “Was he cursed, Sensei?”

The cat is back on the ground, licking his paw with a sour expression. “Tch. Something like that. There was a nasty mark on him – I didn't get all of it. We need to get rid of the youkai that affected you.”

“Didn't you say something was at your house yesterday?” Natsume presses.

“ _Idiots,”_ says Sensei. “And you didn't do anything? You wouldn't be as tasty as Natsume, Tanuma, but you'd still make a good treat for most youkai.”

“Are you never afraid he's going to eat you?” Kaname asks Natsume.

“He's tried,” Natsume says, with an odd, smug smile. He says nothing else, but Sensei deflates and grumbles a bit.

The rest of their walk to the shrine is more peaceful. As they draw near, though, Natsume starts shifting his shoulders uncomfortably, frowning. “Do you feel that?” he asks at last.

Kaname can feel his headache returning, but that's about it. “No?”

Natsume shrugs. Together they exit the last of the trees, leaving the temple open before them.

All at once Natsume stiffens, grabbing Kaname's arm and dragging him back toward the treeline. Sensei has suddenly vanished.

“What is it!” Kaname exclaims. “Natsume?”

Natsume stares at him, very pale. “You can't...?”

“Is there a youkai?”

The boy shakes his head uncertainly. Then he clearly thinks of something. “Tanuma! The priest – you said he's here, right?”

“Yeah... there shouldn't be any youkai around, his sutras usually keep them back.” Kaname frowns; the youkai wouldn't attack his dad, right?

Natsume stares at him. “Tanuma, there are _dozens_ of youkai here. All around the shrine.”

And that, well.

That's a problem.

* * *

 

An hour later finds them hunkered on the edge of the property. Ponta, returning from his third circle of the grounds, appears in front of them with an oddly grim expression on his tiny face. He stops and assesses Kaname critically. “They get thicker _inside_ the shrine – something's wrong with that place. Has your dad been practicing any dark magic?”

“What? No!”

“Did he invite a spirit to help him take vengeance on an enemy?” The youkai suggests.

“No!”

“Did he - “

“Sensei,” Natsume huffs. “The priest didn't do anything!”

“Well, _you_ don't know that,” the cat points out. “Humans can be pretty stupid.”

“We're wasting time,” Kaname urges. “What are these youkai? Can we get inside?”

“Um.” Natsume's eyes flick around the shrine doubtfully, seeing things Kaname can barely sense. “...No.”

“Pah,” says Ponta. “Useless humans. I could get rid of most of them, but they'd have time to swarm me; hang on a minute.”

He vanishes.

Kaname crosses his arms, hugging himself. A dark pall seems to hang over the temple, and the air is chill; now he recognizes his nausea and dizziness as the results of spiritual-overload, and chides himself for ignoring the symptoms up 'til now. If he'd pressed his father a little more, demanded he perform the sutras immediately, or even let Natsume accompany him yesterday -

“Hey,” says Natsume. “Don't worry, Tanuma, we'll help your dad.”

“It's all my fault,” says Kaname. “Spirits don't _normally_ invade temples, do they? But they've come after me since I was little – even if I can't see them.”

“That's not your fault,” Natsume says.

Kaname wants to argue, but he stops himself. Natsume's eyes are full of compassion – understanding – that only comes from shared experience. And god knows Natsume has had more trouble with spirits than _him._

“ - You better remember that,” Kaname finally says, “When you try to hide secrets from me again.”

Natsume's expression turns sheepish. He opens his mouth to speak, and is cut off by a scream.

They both turn to stare at the temple. The walls seem to have turned three shades darker, and writhing shadows flicker over the doorway. Another, horrible yell comes from within; there's only one possible source.

Kaname runs forward, bursting past Natsume's alarmed attempt to stop him, and runs for the entrance.

It's like walking through sludge, trudging through snow on a windy day. He's buffeted from each side, slipping and sliding over neat, even grass. He stumbles up the steps to the temple doors and suddenly falls, borne down by a suffocating weight over his back, his arms, his heart -

Then the weight disappears. Natsume appears by his side, waving his arms wildly and somehow bearing away the darkness. The doorway looks clear and normal, suddenly; Tanuma runs through the entrance with Natsume close behind.

He chances only one glance behind them; the grounds seem to be covered in a foul, smoky miasma that flickers with bolts of electricity.

Natsume pushes in front of him and takes the lead. “They don't want us to go this way,” he gasps only once; and then he's lashing out again, one hand after another, wrestling against opponents Kaname can't see.

His father is at the heart of the shrine, right outside the _honden._ When they arrive he stands, swaying on his feet and glaring up at the _kami_ 's home as though pure hatred is sufficient to make it burn. Perhaps that's true, for a youkai.

Tanuma Kobayashi turns back and gives them a smile with too many teeth. He waves one hand in greeting. “Kaname, Natsume-kun. What are you doing here?”

Natsume punches him in the face.

Kaname yelps, startled, but it's nothing to the horrific noise released by the priest. Kobayashi lurches like he's possessed – which, Kaname realizes too late, he _is._ Something black and smoky shoots out of the priest, zigzags crazily through the air, and abruptly tackles Natsume.

Natsume falls flat on the ground, body shivering and wavering like a staticky TV image. Next to him Kaname's father lies slumped before the _honden_. And together they look very still, and very dead.

“Natsume? Natsume!”

Kaname kneels down, flicking a worried glance at his father. He shakes Natsume's shoulder, and his friend's head rolls from side to side. But after a moment Natsume gasps slightly, sitting up.

He's crying.

“We just wanted our home back,” he says. His pupils are blown wide, and again his eyes dart around their empty surroundings. “A proper nest. Don't you see? Why do you keep getting rid of us?”

The tears on his friend's face shake Kaname. “Get out,” he says immediately. “Get out of him – you're not Natsume.”

“We just want a _home,”_ the thing in Natsume repeats.

Kaname _wants_ to sympathize; Natsume would. But Natsume is gone, and that's enough to quell any kindness that might have remained to him. “Get out!”

Natsume's eyes slowly burn orange. The boy stumbles to his feet, fists clenching – and then a brilliant white light fills the room.

When it fades Natsume has fallen again, and all the strange shadows are gone. Natsume's cat comes strolling out of the shadows, glaring at Kaname as though the world' problems rest with him.

“I _told_ you idiots to stay outside,” Ponta complains. “...Hey, is the priest dead?”

* * *

 

The priest wakes an hour later, baffled but intrigued when Kaname explains what happened. He's always accepted the reality of youkai easily and without much concern, in a calm, placid manner that can be both reassuring and maddening. Today, Kaname is just relieved to be able to limit his explanations; he doesn't want to dwell on the thought of his father's crazy smile, his unconscious body.

He walks Natsume outside as the sun begins to set. Ponta trundles beside them, still sour, and flops down with a sigh when Natsume halts.

Tanuma really _is_ going crazy, because for a second, it looks like there's a giant horse looming behind the cat.

Natsume turns to him. “The spirit won't come back,” he promises.

Kaname hadn't considered that possibility. “I know.”

Natsume is silent. “....I felt a bit bad for it,” he says.

“What?”

“It just wanted a home.” Natsume ducks his head, reddening a little. “It shouldn't have hurt your father.. but I could feel how sad it was... It was just desperate.”

Tanuma has no response to this. “I'm sorry,” he says suddenly. Natsume looks up at him with bewilderment. “To get you involved, I mean, and to have run into the shrine like that...” It had been both exhilarating and horrible, seeing quiet, kind Natsume fighting spirits. Fighting for _him._ “I think I understand why you don't want to talk about this stuff..”

“I don't like involving you,” Natsume says quietly.

But Tanuma shakes his head. “I _understand,_ but - I'm already involved, Natsume. My dad was possessed because he keeps protecting the area – and he only does that because otherwise I would get sick, or eaten. I can't just ignore youkai. And I definitely don't want to ignore you. Try to remember how you felt when I didn't let you check the spirit at my house - ”

“That's different.”

“No, it's not!” Kaname bursts. “I care about you too, Natsume!”

Natsume stares at him, wide-eyed, and then abruptly flushes. He averts his gaze. “I – I'm sorry. I'll try to talk to you more, Tanuma. But it's not always easy.”

Next to them Ponta sniffs. “I'll remind you, brat,” he says. “As long as it stops me from seeing sappy scenes like this. Are we done here?”

Natsume smiles and reaches down to lift the cat. “Yes, Sensei.” He glances at Tanuma. “We're done, for now.”

“For now,” Tanuma agrees. He thinks of the orange-eyed spirit, the broken pain in its voice.

…Maybe he _will_ ask his father to let up on the sutras, after all.

 


End file.
